From birds on the wing to wild beasts on the hoof, and from athletes or racecars to aircraft at aerobatic displays, it can be hard to track the action. In fact, it can literally be a pain if you’re using a heavy telephoto lens to close the distance between yourself and what you’re shooting. Shoot handheld and you’ll be feeling the strain sooner rather than later. Use a tripod or monopod and a conventional head will lose its balance as soon as you start tilting the camera.
The great thing about the best gimbal heads is that they effectively make your camera weightless. Taking the load out of heavier setups, a good gimbal head effectively supports the camera in suspension, maintaining its center of gravity during tilting and panning, and making it easy to hold it indefinitely in any position, even when the tilt lock is loosened.
A good gimbal head therefore gives you a rock-solid base for panning shots even if you're using an ultra-heavy telephoto lens. They’re typically used by bird photographers and at airshows, where you need to move a super-telephoto lens quickly to keep up with a subject – and where you’ll often need to wait ages to get the shots you want.
Gimbal heads tend to be sophisticated pieces of kit that command a steep selling price, but that’s not always the case. It pays to choose wisely, so I’ve scoured the shelves to find the best gimbal heads available. These are the gimbal heads I reckon offer the best bang for your buck right now.
Our Guides Editor Adam loves big telephoto zooms for getting closer to the action on birdlife or aviation shoots, but isn't such a fan of lugging them around, so he's your guide to the best gimbal heads to lighten the load.
The quick list
The Leofoto PG-1 Gimbal Head can support up to 25kg yet only weighs 1kg thanks to some skeletal design work and precision engineering – and it's available in a camo finish!
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Selling for a snip, this K&F Concept Professional 360º Panoramic Gimbal Head impresses with a hefty 20kg payload and solid aluminum construction, with a full range of movement.
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Big, heavy and expensive, the ProMediaGear Katana is intimidating in more ways than one – but it's among the best gimbal heads I've tested.
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With a unique folding design, Benro's GH2F is much more portable than other gimbal heads, though this does come at the cost of some payload capacity.
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Wimberley's perennially popular gimbal head is an expensive but fantastic choice, with superb freedom of movement and tight tolerances.
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Benro's carbon fibre gimbal blends a lightweight build with heavy payload support and butter-smooth engineering. Excellent stuff.
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While it's not a gimbal head exactly, the Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket is a solid, budget-friendly alternative that works with a monopod.
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Best gimbal heads
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Best overall
The 'skeleton' design of the Leofoto PG-1 Gimbal Head certainly catches the eye, but it’s not just for looks; this T6061 aluminum construction makes it surprisingly lightweight yet incredibly strong and rigid. There's no flex, no wobble – just solid support. But what truly sets this gimbal apart for me is the sheer smoothness of its operation. Whether I was panning a full 360 degrees or tilting, the movement was exceptionally fluid and friction-free.
Once I had my camera and a hefty telephoto lens balanced correctly – a process made easy by the generous 90mm height adjustment range for the cradle and the calibrated scales – the whole setup felt practically weightless. Tracking fast-moving subjects, like birds in flight or athletes on the field, became effortless. This is exactly what you want from a gimbal head; it supports the gear while allowing you complete freedom of movement.
The attention to detail is evident. Large, purposeful locking knobs for both panning and tilting are easy to grip and operate. There's even a bubble level on the base plate, which is a small but significant touch for ensuring your horizons are level, especially if you're shooting video or panoramic stills. The locking/release lever for the height adjustment is also well-designed and comfortable to use. Yes, the Leofoto PG-1 sits at a higher price point, but in my opinion, the precision engineering, clever design, and superb performance make it well worth the investment.
Read our full Leofoto PG-1 Gimbal Head review
Best value
For the price, the K&F Concept Professional 360° Panoramic Gimbal Head feels impressively solid, constructed from machined aluminium with an anti-oxidation coating. The large, machined aluminium knobs make adjustments easy and secure, which is crucial when you're dealing with heavy camera and lens combinations. And speaking of heavy, it boasts a load capacity of 20kg, so it handled my gear without any issues. Once your camera and lens are balanced, it holds its position nicely, even without everything being fully locked down.
It allows for a full 360-degree rotation, which is great for panoramic shots or tracking moving subjects in wildlife or sports photography. The movements are generally smooth, though I did notice a little stiffness, making it not quite as fluid as some of the more expensive gimbal heads I've used, likely due to the damping. For its price point, however, the performance is more than acceptable.
One design choice I found a bit puzzling was the inclusion of a horizontal adjustment on the arm. While it offers a range of adjustments, it felt a little unnecessary and could confuse beginners. Also, the provided Arca-Swiss tripod plate isn't particularly long, which might limit how much you can adjust for balance with certain lenses. But it's well-made, the large knobs are user-friendly, and it supports a good amount of weight. While the movements could be a tad smoother and some design elements aren't perfect, it delivers good value for money.
See our full K&F Concept Professional 360° Panoramic Gimbal Head review
Best for professionals
The ProMediaGear GK Katana gimbal head is a serious piece of kit for dedicated wildlife or sports photographers wrestling with hefty super-telephoto lenses. The first thing that strikes you is its robust build quality. This thing is designed to hold up to a colossal 68kg (150lbs), so my 600mm lens felt incredibly secure. Setting it up was straightforward; it comes in a few parts, including the G-shaped aluminium body and the cradle with its Arca-Swiss clamp. The included PX6 lens plate is a nice touch, designed specifically for lens feet.
In use, the GK Katana truly shines. The smoothness of the pan and tilt, thanks to the steel ball bearings, is exceptional. It made my heavy lens setup feel virtually weightless, allowing for quick and effortless tracking of subjects across a scene. I particularly appreciated the ability to customize the friction, so I could dial in the exact feel I wanted. And crucially, when you let go, the gimbal holds the camera and lens in a neutral position. The large, tactile rubber knobs are another highlight. They are easy to grip and adjust precisely. All the locking mechanisms felt 100% reliable and super-strong. I also liked the ergonomic grooves on the main curve, making it easy to grab and carry.
However, there's no getting around the fact that the GK Katana is a hefty piece of equipment, weighing in at 2.53kg (5.58lbs). Its awkward shape also means it’s not the easiest to pack unless you have a pretty large camera bag. But if you're serious about getting the best support and smoothest operation for your big lenses, and can manage the weight, I found the GK Katana to be a superbly crafted tool that makes long sessions much more manageable and productive.
See our full PromediaGear GK Katana review
Best for travel
An interesting addition to Benro's gimbal line-up, the GH2F differs from the regular GH2 in one key way – it has a folding design that means it packs down very small. Benro is clearly angling this towards travel photographers and those whose kit space is at a premium, and it works well. While additional moving parts in any gadget are always a bit of a risk – as they're another thing that can potentially break – the Benro GH2F is solidly constructed, and in use it doesn't feel at all fragile.
The movement of the gimbal is nice and smooth, particularly on the horizontal axis. Having a rotating Arca-compatible plate on the mounting arm is a welcome feature, as it means the user can very swiftly change to and from a vertical shooting orientation (the arm can also be removed entirely and used separately as an L-bracket for Arca-compatible heads). At 10kg, this is one of the lighter-payload gimbal heads, and it's also worth mentioning that its small dimensions mean you can be a little more restricted in terms of vertical camera movement.
Best premium
The Wimberley WH-200 Version II is an all-around excellent gimbal head, with a well-deserved reputation in the industry. Offering superb freedom of movement even with the largest lenses, the WH-200 Version II has a redesigned panning base compared to the original, with zero play, and its pan-locking knob has been moved to the side for easier one-handed operation. The knobs themselves are grippy and ergonomically designed, making them easy to adjust even when you're wearing gloves.
In use, it's absolutely sublime, both fluid and firm when it needs to be. Wimberley has gone over this head from top to bottom to ensure tight tolerances, and the pan and tilt axes turn with exceptional smoothness. The standardized Arca-Swiss mount ensure broad compatibility, and Wimberley even supplies replacement low-profile lens feet to ensure compatibility with lenses that have a taller than average foot. It's only the higher-than-average asking price that keeps this out of the top spot, but if your budget goes this far, it's absolutely worth it.
Best carbon fiber
What's so good about the Benro GH5C? One major ace in the hole for this gimbal head is its carbon fiber construction. This material is both stronger and lighter than the other main construction material for heads and tripods – aluminum – and means that you'll be able to support heavier payloads with the head, and have an easier time ferrying it to and from your shooting locations. And I do mean heavy payloads, with the GH5C able to support a whopping 29.94kg of kit, which is more than enough for even chunky pro video setups.
Benro has outdone itself with the engineering here; the movement of the GH5C is smooth as butter, even when it's loaded up to the nines. Panning movements are made ridiculously easy, on both horizontal and vertical axes. It comes at a cost, but this is a tool made for and marketed to professionals, so that's to be expected.
Best budget alternative
This isn’t actually gimbal head but, instead, operates as a jointed bracket. Despite its relatively basic design, it weighs 1.6kg and has a hefty maximum load rating of 20kg. The bracket is based on two U-shaped supports, the inner one rotating within the outer one. Three operating heights are available and you can even hang the lens from the inner support. Panning and tilting are both reasonably smooth. The bracket is primarily intended for use with a monopod but works equally well with a tripod. It’s not as sophisticated or as smooth-acting as the best gimbal heads, but I have found it to be a good budget alternative.
How to choose the best gimbal head
Gimbal heads are a very specific type of accessory, with a distinct list of features. While they tend to be oriented towards a more advanced photographer or videographer, everyone who gets one is going to be a first-time buyer once, so with that in mind I've put together a quick guide to the things to look for.
1. Vertical adjustment
You don't necessarily need to get a gimbal with vertical adjustment to feel the benefits of a gimbal head, but if you want to achieve complete weightlessness then you'll need it. The more vertical travel it has, the better.
2. Precision engineering
Loosening the clamps that lock the pan base and tilt arm on cheaper gimbals can unfortunately introduce unwanted slack and wobble in the joints. However, better (and usually more expensive) designs will have tighter tolerances.
3. Ergonomics
While small dials and controls can look stylish and tidy, any wildlife photographer knows that it's easy to get caught short in bad weather. Set yourself up for success by looking for a gimbal head that has large controls that are easy to grip through gloves.
4. Mounting methods
All the gimbal heads in this guide use the Arca-Swiss mounting plate standard. If you purchase a gimbal head with a long plate, then you'll also get better adjustment.
5. Don't skimp on the legs
Mounting a gimbal head on a cheap travel tripod is akin to fitting a state-of-the-art lock to a flimsy wooden door. Look for sturdy, rigid legs, even if the combined weight will be unwieldy.
How we test gimbal heads
When it comes to accessories like gimbal heads, we do as much testing as possible in the field. Our experienced reviewers know exactly what to look for and where any weak points might be. For gimbal heads specifically, we look at stability, ease of setup, smoothness of operation, and portability. We test how smoothly the camera moves, how securely it is held and whether there are any design niggles that prevent it from working as it should – such as different parts knocking into each other when the camera is moved to certain positions.
FAQs
What is a gimbal head used for?
A gimbal head is not the same thing as a stabilizing gimbal like the DJI Ronin SC, which is used for video. A gimbal head is designed for photographers, specifically those who are using long telephoto lenses. It provides smooth, stable movement of the camera and lens along horizontal and vertical axes, while also holding them steadily in position when the user lets go. Essentially, it means you get the stability of a tripod, and the fluidity and flexibility of handheld shooting. For sports and wildlife photographers especially, they can be hugely useful.
Can you use a gimbal head on a monopod?
A standard gimbal head would technically fit on a monopod, but would likely be too big and unwieldy to really be what you'd call useful. However, some manufacturers do offer heads that are specifically designed to work on monopods, such as the Manfrotto 393 Long Lens Monopod Bracket.
